The Tourists were a power pop outfit whose brightest moment was the Dusty Springfield cover, I Only Wanna Be With You, which made number 5 in 1979. After they split up, their driving and creative force, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox formed a new partnerships with the Eurythmics, which took a very different approach to the Tourists.
They recorded some demos with DAF drummer Robert Gorl, and ex-Can members Jackie Liebezeit and Holger Czukay in Conny Plank’s studio in Cologne. The demos were taken up by RCA and provided the material for the first album In The Garden in 1981. Blondie drummer Clem Burke fleshed out the sound and the LP displayed a wide range of styles, from passionate pop to avant garde electronics. The uptempo feel of the music was often undercut by Annie’s moody, aching lyrics and powerful vocals, as in the track Never Gonna Cry Again; this effect was to be a characteristic element in her later work.
The LP was not a commercial success, however, and was very much a first attempt, with their sound not as sharply honed as it was eventually to become.
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Advantages: All albums in one box! And extra things - live tracks etc Disadvantages: Any true fan would PREFER all singles, b-sides, everything lol! but hey what can you do. Also - no 1984